I am writing this guide for new members or anyone who has questions about deviantART and its members. Please comment if something doesn't make sense or if you need help! Please note, this is NOT a guide to everything on deviantART, just some stuff I thought was worth talking about.

PLZ ACCOUNTS:

What is a "plz" account?

A "plz" account is a deviantART account where the avatar is an emote that you can use in your journals, comments, etc.

How do you use them?

To use them, write :icon(thenameoftheaccount):

An example is which is written as :icon supertighthug plz: (minus the spaces)

Some popular accounts are:

To get the account name, roll your mouse over the image and copy the text you see beginning with an :icon and ending in a :.

Quick lesson in dA plz account slang~

means that you did something awesome, so you get a free internet!

means I like~

means you posted a chain message and it failed

means that you made an account that ended in "plz" but isn't an actual plz account.

Llamas don't really have any specific purpose. The creators of deviantART originally made them as a joke, but when everyone loved them, they kept them.They can be given to other people by going to the top of their profile, pressing Give and selecting Llama. They don't cost any points to give them and when you give them, you don't loose any yourself.

I've seen llamas look different. Why is that?

The more llamas you get, the more its appearance changes.

1 - Llama -

10 - Super Llama -

50 - Albino Llama -

100 - Super Albino -

500 - Ninja Llama -

1,000 - Fancy Llama -

2,500 - King Llama -

5, 000 - Spartan Llama -

7,500 - Wizard Llama -

10,000 - The Golden Llama -

No Longer Available - Rainbow Llama

What is llama for llama?

Llama for llama (a.k.a Give a llama, Get a llama)is where you give someone a llama andare guaranteed to get one back.

It depends on the badge. To get some, you need to buy deviantART merchandise, to get others you need to submit to a certain category or have them given to you by other deviants. Badges-of-DeviantART addresses them all~

DEVIANT SYMBOL

I've noticed symbols in front of deviants names. What are those?

Almost every deviant has a symbol in front of his/her name. These signify your standing in the deviantART community. lolly is the exception.

Daily Deviations or DDs are like the New York Times Bestseller list of deviantART. They are fabulous pieces of art and literature that are featured by the community. As suggested by the name, there are new ones everyday, so be sure to check them out by holding your mouse over the arrow on the top left (next to the words deviantART) and click Daily Deviations (the one with the heart).

Easy! Just look down at the comments area. Is there a banner that says "Daily Deviation"? If not, then no, the piece has not received a DD~

This group catalogs almost every piece of artwork and literature that has received a Daily Deviation: DD-Catalogue

THUMBNAILS

What are thumbnails?

Thumbnails are codes that when pasted into a journal, artist's notes, etc. shows a little picture of your artwork.

Where do I get the thumbnail code?

Go to a deviation's page, MOST TIMES underneath the word Share on the right there will be several symbols and an arrow. If you click on the arrow, a little dropdown menu will appear. Underneath the word Thumb there will be a code that looks something like this:

:thumb12345678:

Paste that wherever you want it and you will get a mini image of your art!

To make the image bigger, type the word "big" after the colon but before the word "thumb"

POINTS

What are points?

Points are the currency of deviantART.

How do I get them?

You can get points several ways including, but not limited to:

SELLING PRINTS -On deviantART you can turn your art into prints which can be sold on deviantART for points. For more info, roll your mouse over Shop in the top bar and select Points .

POINT COMMISSIONS - Point commissions are kind of like user-run stores. Basically, you make a journal with prices for drawing other peoples requests. Also, deviantART has created a new system for artist commissions. Information can be found here: danlev.deviantart.com/journal/…. However, dA takes 20% of it, so you may be better off doing things on your own.

CONTESTS - Lots of deviantART members host contests with point prizes. Some of them require you to watch them, some require you to draw something and some all you have to do is comment. To keep in touch with big contests in the area, watch or become members of popular advertisement or contest groups.

POINT-GIVING ACCOUNTS - This is probably the easiest option. There are many accounts on deviantART where there are a list of members to watch or give llamas too and if you llama/watch a certain amount, they will give you points. A while ago, I wrote a journal with a list of point-giving accounts. Read it here: mangasockattack.deviantart.com…

LLAMA FOR POINTS - On the top right hand corner of your page you can see your badges. If you click on it sometimes you will see someone's avatar with the text Give Llama For Points. If you click on the text and give them a llama you will be rewarded with one or two points.

TRADE MONEY FOR POINTS - Using your credit/debit card or PayPal, you can transfer your real money into points to use on deviantART. For more info, roll your mouse over Shop in the top bar and select Points .

RECEIVING DONATIONS - If you edit your page (by clicking edit page on the right) you can add a donation pool to your profile. Then, if people like your art, they can donate!

PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP

What is a premium membership?

A premium membership is something that deviantART members can purchase. It allows access to more features, like critiques.

How do I buy one and how much are they?

You can buy one by rolling your mouse over Shop in the top bar and select Buy Premium Membership. Prices vary depending on how long you want your membership to be.

Can you give premium memberships?

Yes, you can. To give one, got to Give in the right corner and select Give Premium Membership

On deviantART (and other websites) "meme" can be referring to one of two things:

1) Is an image from a movie, TV show, YouTube video, etc. that has text written on it.

2) Something like this: fav.me/d5bvouu where people answer questions and/or draw things and then pass it on to the next

Overall, a meme is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

TAG

Tag is a term used in some memes and journals. It will say "Tag someone else!" That means, write their name/username and they have to do it, like the game tag. You tag the next person to do it.

KIRIBAN

A kiriban is where someone says "Kiriban at 6,000 pageviews!". The first person to take a screen capture of that person's page with the pageviews at 6,000 gets some sort of prize.

STOCK AND REFERENCE

Stock and reference images are images on deviantART that can be used by artists as reference or as stock in a manipulation.

To find them search deviantART under Resources and Stock Images

Each stock/reference image has its own rules, so read them before you use it!

BASE

A base is an image that artists can use on deviantART to draw on top of.

They can be found by searching either Line-art and Character Sheets or Customization < Digital Dolls < Pixel Art < Base/Adopted Base/Original Base/Traced Base

DEVIOUSNESS AWARD

The Deviousness Award is an award given to members of the deviantART community for outstanding work.

FORUMS

The forums are a place on deviantART where you can chat with other deviants, praise deviantART, welcome new members, etc.

My personal advice would be to stay away from complaints forum at first or away from the forums in general. People in the forums tend to be nastier than they would be otherwise. (This is not always true, just what I have experienced.)

To go to the forums, hold your mouse over the arrow on the top left next to deviantART and choose Forums . (The one with the speech bubble)

STA.SH

Sta.sh is a place to store your art before posting it. To submit to your Sta.sh, go to Submit in the top bar and choose Sta.sh

CHAT

The chat is a place to have fun talking to other members. To use the chat, go to (you guessed it) the arrow next to deviantART on the top left and select Chat . (the one with the smiley face)

GROUPS

Groups are, well, groups! You can join groups to discuss books or art, join contests, submit your own art and get feedback, etc.

There are lots of groups that except all types of art and other groups that except only specific types of art. Submitting your journals and art to groups gives it a higher chance of getting noticed and more of a chance of being commented on or favorited.

dA MURO

dA Muro is this handy-dandy little art tool that deviantART gives you access to, free of charge! You can use it in your comments by clicking the Add a Drawing button. You can also submit art with it by going to Submit in the top bar and choosing Draw with dA Muro.

HOLY CRAP, YOU ARE AWESOME!

I know I am! I spent a whole lot of time writing this, so please comment and fav if you found it helpful. Also, please remember, if you have any questions, comment and I will get back to you ASAP!

So, for the past few weeks I've been haunting the "Welcome Center" (in the forums) and I decided to make a short guide to deviantART. Obviously, it didn't end up quite as short as I hoped it would be. However, I think this covers the basics of deviantART and some added things that confused me when I first joined dA. I hope this helps someone and if it does PLEASE COMMENT AND FAV!

Thank you for setting up this forum and for all your advice. I am new here and kind of a geek, so I thought, but Deviantart has created some stressful situations for me ---- I couldn't see some of my work because it was an "attachment" to other work and when I asked how to deal with that, I got the vaguest non-answer which helped… NOT! Meanwhile, I am used to being able to make changes and to find things easily on new sites, and here… NO! Just had to get that off my chest! Thanks againg.!

I want to become a premium member. but the problem is, I don't have(or I don't want) a credit card. all I have is a debit card/bank account. can you help me solve this problem? I don't want to use paypal as well(My temper there is like my vessels flow hotter like lava because of this credit card verification). can you help me Kind sir?

As of right now, DA does not offer any options to upgrade aside from using points, credit card and paypal. I'm really sorry if this is negatively effecting you. Paypal and credit card are both the most secure methods for money transfer. To buy points, you also need paypal and credit card.

I see. maybe this is not the time for me to be a P. membership den until I graduate. thank you for your help my friend. its because I'm still a student and I myself don't want to have a credit card yet. maybe for the near future I'll become a P. member.

So I haven't been able to find this anywhere, but when i submit poems, it automatically goes to the ribbon like thing marked literature at the top. I've seen ribbons with pictures and things, so apparently it's possible to change them but I can't figure when/how. Help?

Hello! I am pretty sure you are talking about, it is called the Literature Author Tag. To change it, go to your settings (mouse over your name at the top and click settings) and then you can change it. Hope this helps!

"There's no set deadline yet, but I'm thinking maybe August 15. c: I'd be glad if you entered!If you do, please make a journal/poll linking back to this to get the word aroundAlso, I am accepting prize donors. uvu"

So I am assuming all you have to do is link it and then make a poll/journal.

wow ... thank you for this ...is it possible to remove my deviation from somebody's favourite ... i do not like the description of the collection that my deviant has been filed under and do not want to be associated with it ... thank you ,,,

No, I'm sorry. As far as I'm aware, if somebody else favorites it, you can't make them un-favorite it. You could always try to send them a note and tell them you do not want your work associated with that. I don't know what exactly it is you don't want your work associated with, but if it breaks the DA rules, you could report them. Otherwise, I'm afraid there is nothing you can do